Bob Mackieis unstitchingKim Kardashian’sMarilyn Monroemoment.
The 82-year-old costume designer, who sketched the late actress' “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” dress, gave a critical review ofThe Kardashiansstar’s buzzed-about rewear of the crystal-covered gauze column gown to the Met Gala while speaking toEntertainment Weekly.
“[Marilyn] was a goddess. A crazy goddess, but a goddess. She was just fabulous. Nobody photographs like that. And it was done for her. It was designed for her,” he argued. “Nobody else should be seen in that dress.”
The legendary costume designer drew the design in 1962 for Jean Louis, who fashioned the frock Monroe famously wore to serenade then-presidentJohn F. Kennedyfor his 45th birthday. Monroe died less than three months later.
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In order to fit into the gown, Kardashian, 41, famously lost 16 lbs. in three weeks as the dress — which was first flown to her via private plane from Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum in Orlando, Florida — originally didn’t fit and couldn’t be altered.
“I would wear a sauna suit twice a day, run on the treadmill, completely cut out all sugar and all carbs, and just eat the cleanest veggies and protein,“she toldVogueof her strict workout routine. “I didn’t starve myself, but I was so strict.”
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She wound up only actually wearing the original dress for a matter of minutes, taking pictures with it up the steps of the Met before changing into a lookalike gown (with a little help from boyfriendPete Davidson).
“I’m extremely respectful to the dress and what it means to American history. I would never want to sit in it or eat in it or have any risk of any damage to it and I won’t be wearing the kind of body makeup I usually do,” Kardashian said. “Everything had to be specifically timed and I had to practice walking up the stairs.”
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Dr. Justine De Young, professor of fashion history at the Fashion Institute of Technology, told PEOPLE that the look was “irresponsible and unnecessary.”
“She can –– and did –– commission a replica which would be indistinguishable from the original,” Dr. Young noted. “Such an iconic piece of American history should not be put at risk of damage just for an ego-boost and photo-op.”
Monroe historian and collectorScott Fortneralso told PEOPLE that theGentlemen Prefer Blondesstar wanted the dress to be totally unique to her.
“When Marilyn knew she’d be performing at President John F. Kennedy’s birthday gala she contacted Louis and said, ‘I want you to design a truly historical dress, a dazzling dress that’s one of a kind.’ She asked that it be a dress that, ‘only Marilyn Monroe could wear,’ " Fortner said.
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“Marilyn stood nude as the fabric for the dress was literally sculpted to her body to precisely match every curve. The fabric, which is a flesh-colored soufflé gauze imported from France, was layered strategically so she wouldn’t need to wear undergarments,” he continued.
The collector, who witnessed Ripley’s buy the dress for $4.81 million in 2016, noted that “the age of the gown” is also an “issue” as Monroe wore it in May 1962, making the garment 60 years old.
Kim Kardashian/Instagram; Earl Leaf/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty
Always one to meet the moment, Kardashian later changed intoanother iconic gownfrom Monroe’s private collection on Met Monday — the emerald sequin Norman Norell dress that the late screen icon wore to the Golden Globes in 1962.
Kardashian said the idea of channeling Monroe at the Met Gala had been on her mind for some time, tellingVoguethat nothing felt more all-American for the “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion” theme than paying homage to the iconic actress.
“The idea really came to me after the gala in September last year,” she explained. “I thought to myself, what would I have done for the American theme if it had not been the Balenciaga look? What’s the most American thing you can think of? And that’s Marilyn Monroe.”
source: people.com
